'Similar threads' Dredging up Old Threads

[twisted-acres-farm]

Maybe an option to turn it off could be helpful.

I would love that, Not sure how many times I have almost sent some one a post meant for the thread I am in .

 

[3KillerBs]

I agree that is is a problem.

It clutters up the forums and misdirects new people into long-dead threads, which may be useful for research (if the search engine worked better), but which don't require new input.

That warning box sounds like a great idea.

The issue too is because now that I see this happening, I'm having to skip any thread that has an older original post date without even looking at it. So if someone new doesn't realize it's a bad idea to piggyback on old threads, they're potentially missing out on feedback due to more experienced members/heavier posters skipping threads because of the post date (which other members have admitted to before).

Same here.

This is the only forum I participate in where "thread necromancy" isn't strongly discouraged or even outright forbidden (resulting in a warning from the mods).

Maybe setting threads to lock after they have been inactive for a period of time? 6 months to a year? Then people could still READ them and get the information from them but couldn't zombify them and expect responses that they just won't get.

Several other forums I participate in lock threads a year after the last post. While popping up an 11-month-old thread is still annoying in most cases (it is nice when someone updates a "Breed or Gender" section post with adult pictures to show whether people were right or wrong), it is, at least, better than the 10yo threads I've seen come up recently.

 

[aart]

It clutters up the forums and misdirects new people into long-dead threads, which may be useful for research (if the search engine worked better), but which don't require new input.

Old threads are often replied to by newbies...and others that don't pay attention to dates.
Those threads are often found by searching....and yes, it's worse now with the similar thread function.
You can't administer integrity, or awareness, by locking old threads.
Just sayin'.

 

[3KillerBs]

Old threads are often replied to by newbies...and others that don't pay attention to dates.
Those threads are often found by searching....and yes, it's worse now with the similar thread function.
You can't administer integrity, or awareness, by locking old threads.
Just sayin'.

Most of the forums on various topic that I participate in do take measures against thread necromancy -- including a strong culture of being aware of the dates.

It's never perfect, of course, but it helps.

 

[Corbdee]

I think that the 'similar threads' bar is confusing, especially for people on phones, and is getting mixed up with the 'New Posts' bar, causing old threads to be dredged up when the OP hasn't been online for 10 years. In my opinion, because of this, the 'similar threads' bar is more of a nuisance than a help. Is there a way to change it so that there's a certain date for the last reply that it won't go past?

I completely agree. Every single “similar threads” I get are at least 6 years old

 

[OmnipotentOrpington]

Maybe just lock the BST threads after a couple of years? That way people don't ask about it YEARS after it was posted, when it was most likely sold to another person.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Maybe just lock the BST threads after a couple of years? That way people don't ask about it YEARS after it was posted, when it was most likely sold to another person.

We are (should be) already excluding the BST threads from the "similar threads" feature.

 

[azygous]

To wander into the psychology of this issue, those wanting to lock old threads may be suffering from acute embarrassment. I certainly have had this happen to me, mostly an eternity ago when I was new, but I still get sucked into responding to an old thread occasionally.

We shouldn't need to shut down old threads just because people may be browsing half asleep and get sucked into an old thread. Live and learn. Learn to notice the date of the thread. Read the last comment to see why the thread was responded to. Some BYC users do realize they are responding to an old thread but clearly state they are curious to see if the OP would respond to their post with a thread update because they are sincerely interested in how things worked out over the long run.

Too much "policing" removes options and information that could be very valuable. Acknowledge you may be a little bit embarrassed by not noticing the stale date on a thread, and promise yourself you will be more careful not to get sucked in because you are operating a computer in an internet stupor.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Ya, this is a really interesting discussion.

Again, for the record, we'll NEVER systematically "lock" old threads.

I think the big question is if we should remove / limit the new "similar threads" feature to more recent threads and not let it "pull up" threads over x years ago.

As it stands right now, we feel the pros of allowing the new feature to pull from the wealth of info on BYC outweighs the cons of old threads being "dug up".

 

[casportpony]

I think the big question is if we should remove / limit the new "similar threads" feature to more recent threads and not let it "pull up" threads over x years ago.

I think it's fine the way it is and I have actually found it useful in finding stuff.